Loneliness showed limited links to cognitive change in older adults
Smartphone assessments of 318 adults aged 70–90 across up to six annual rounds found limited links between loneliness and later cognitive change.
Limit: Cognitive assessments covered memory and processing speed, leaving changes in language abilities unmeasured
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
In an observational study, 318 adults aged 70–90 in the Einstein Aging Study completed up to six annual 14-day assessment rounds. They repeatedly reported momentary loneliness and took smartphone tests of holding spatial information in mind, processing information quickly and linking pieces of information.
Initial loneliness did not predict changes in most thinking skills. The exception was the test of linking information: higher initial loneliness was associated with a lower likelihood of error-free performance over time. Initial cognitive performance did not predict changes in loneliness. Loneliness rose modestly across assessment rounds. Depressive symptoms were associated with higher initial loneliness and steeper increases over time.
Why it matters
The work addresses a question about cognitive aging: whether loneliness precedes changes in thinking skills or cognitive performance precedes changes in loneliness.
Caveats
This observational study cannot establish cause and effect. Its findings concern adults aged 70–90 and do not establish whether the same patterns occur at younger ages.
Where the evidence stands
Loneliness
- 221 independent labs in 48 countries
- 34 findings against
- Funders: National Institute on Aging and others
- 13 of 568 findings with company ties
The paper
The Pennsylvania State University
Aging & Mental Health, Nov 1, 2026
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